Bird on the Wire
by Violet Lolita
Summary: After being captured by remnants of the Atlas Corporation who have tracked their former assassin Zer0 to Pandora, Maya is forced into an all-too-real virtual reality that she may not survive. Featuring Cyborg!Zer0... because you know you want it. Zer0/Maya.
1. Let the Fun Begin

"_He was not dead yet, not exactly—__  
__ parts of him were dead already, certainly other parts were still only waiting__  
__for something to happen, something grand, but it isn't__  
__ always about me,__  
__he keeps saying, though he's talking about the only heart he knows—"_

—Richard Siken, _Road Music_

* * *

_So he's on Pandora_, she thought, drumming her fingertips against the cool metal of the desk before her. The room was dark, save for a dim light that occasionally flickered in the corner of the room. She had rented a small room for the night on Promethea, a dismal little planet somewhere to the west of Pandora.

Over the years, she had grown to hate the planet. What had once been a stronghold of the Crimson Lance was now nothing more than a shadow of its former glory. Beggars filled the streets—most of them children—who would paw and beg for money as soon as you crossed their line of vision.

They were pitiful. How they lived with themselves, she didn't know. The deformed ones were the worst, coming at you with mutated arms or legs and the hope that their physical condition would spark some sort of empathy of your heart. She had none.

The former members of the Crimson Lance who had stayed behind on the planet stuck to the bars, filling glass after glass with liquor until their breath stank of alcohol and they had to be dragged from their chairs and pushed out the door.

After the defeat of the Atlas Corporation on Pandora, everything had gone to hell. Their mining operations had come to a halt, the search for new alien technology forsaken, and thousands of soldiers had been abandoned to the planets they were last stationed on.

Commandant Steele and General Knoxx were dead, and Athena, her former commander, had betrayed the Omega squad and fled after Knoxx forced her to murder Vesta. Even Admiral Mikey, the brat of a child, was dead, killed after being thrown down a flight of stairs.

Eris was the last remaining member of the Omega Squad, but she was not the only one still loyal to Atlas. They were few, but they were determined. The Atlas Corporation would rise again. It would only take time—time and bloodshed.

But they needed him, their ultimate weapon; the man who was engineered to kill. Atlas had birthed him, molded him into the perfect assassin. They had written murder into his DNA, turned him a killing machine. He was the human embodiment of anomie-a force to be reckoned with.

But he was gone. He had left years ago. Abandoned his orders and never to be heard from again.

_Until now_, she thought, twirling a lock of curly blonde hair with her index finger. Her lips, adorned with bright red lipstick, twisted into a smile.

Eris would leave Promethea victorious. Tomorrow, she would travel to Pandora.

She would find him.

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**A/N: **I should have another (longer) chapter posted sometime in the next few days. I decided to keep this one short because it's the prologue and is mainly setting the stage for the plot. Please reviews! I have an outline for where this story will be going, but I'm always happy to include suggestions and the things readers want to see :)


	2. In the Wasteland

**A/N:** Thank you for the reviews last chapter! I'm glad the story's start has been well-received, and I hope you also enjoy this chapter. As a side note, Zero's dialogue in the story will be a mix between haiku and non-haiku. The next chapter will hopefully be up sometime next week.

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**In the Wasteland**

Maya could feel the sweat beginning to pool underneath her armor, causing the armor to stick to her skin like a wet bandage. No matter how much she tugged at it, she couldn't shake the discomfort that worsened every time the armor pressed deeper into her skin. With a loud sigh, she lifted a hand to push the hair from her face. The sun was no longer perched directly overhead, but her scalp was still warm from the heat of its earlier rays as she followed Zero across the desert.

They were alone—at least for now. The others had taken a car back to Sanctuary, while Maya and Zero stayed behind to scout the terrain for their next mission. This time spent alone with him pushed the words _painfully alone _to the forefront of her mind. He wasn't a conversationalist, and the landscape, normally littered with the occasional bandit camp or graffiti-ridden building, was barren. In front, Zero walked at his usual pace, leaving her a few steps behind with each stride. His armor, though reinforced with a lightweight metal, was made of leather-like material; it was mostly black, with splashes of off-white and gray, save for the blood-red zero that adorned the place where his heart would be, assuming he had one.

How he managed to stand the heat while dressed from head to toe in dark colors was beyond her. The assassin was a locked box, wrapped tight in metal chains. He had traveled with their group of vault hunters for months now, and they had done so much together, everything from side missions to slaying Jack's Warrior. Yet, Maya knew little about him—where he came from, what he liked doing when he didn't have his sword jammed into some bandit's organs. Hell, she didn't even know if Zero was his real name. Axton had dared to ask once, but Zero's response had left them with more questions than answers: _I pity anyone who was named after a number._

With each step, Maya's body felt heavier and heavier, though her footsteps barely made a sound as she trudged through the sand. She could tell even Zero had begun feeling weary from his sluggish movements, but suspected he would never admit as much. His pace had begun to slow, and his footsteps, once marked by long strides, were closer together now.

"Can we stop?" came her voice. Her tongue searched her mouth for moisture but found none.

He halted his pace and faced her. "Why?"

"Because I need a break, asshole," she countered.

He answered with a shrug. She lowered herself near the ground into a crouch before falling back against ground to sit. Kicking sand into the air, she crossed her legs in front of her and removed a canteen from her bag.

The water inside was no longer cold, but it was sweet relief to her tongue. She took a few gulps, not caring that water now dribbled down her chin.

Zero watched her as he stood—or so she thought, anyway. He shifted his weight from one side to the other in what she thought what a gesture of annoyance, prompting her to ask, "Are you going to sit down, or what?"

"I'll stand."

She rolled her eyes before pressing the canteen back to her lips.

A heart emoticon flashed across his visor as if to say _love you too, Maya_ or even _love you too, asshole_.

They spent the next few minutes in uncomfortable silence, with Maya purposefully looking everywhere but in his direction as she avoided his gaze until Zero finally offered, "Shall we stay the night? It's starting to get dark now; night will be coming soon."

"Wouldn't be a bad idea," she replied. "We should be safe here, haven't even passed a bandit camp in miles." Maya lifted a hand to her sweaty brow and began a reassuring check of their surroundings. They were somewhere out in the Dust, trapped in a wasteland by acres and acres of nothing but sand.

Turning his head in the same direction of her gaze, he said, "Put your mind at ease. I'll stay up to watch for foes while you rest tonight."

She countered his offer with the reply, "We can take shifts. The others will be back soon enough, and we both need some sleep if we're going to make it out of this desert alive."

He didn't reply, and she doubted he would wake her up to fulfill her side of the bargain. He never did, always allowing her the extra time to sleep while he kept a watchful eye out for danger. What he did during these long nights was anyone's guess; Maya and the others often fell asleep as soon as they closed their eyes, exhausted from each day's events. Her stomach bubbled at the thought of him watching her sleep, but anything was better than waking up to a bullet piercing her skin or a skag hungrily gnawing at her limbs.

But it wasn't time for sleep yet. Though it was getting darker, it would be another hour or two before the sun set. She surrendered to the silence, staring at her feet. The soles of her shoes were caked with clumps of sand. She gently forced the sand from the crevices with a finger before turning her head to face the assassin.

A question mark appeared on his visor, but he gave no other response or indication that he noticed her eyes upon him. Was he even human? He was like a machine most of the time, so cold and methodical, but sometimes there were moments when she thought that maybe, just maybe, he was capable of the same emotional depth that the rest of them were—able to feel joy, pain, and maybe even love.

Sighing, Maya pulled herself off the ground and laid her blanket down on the sand. As she brushed the sand off her armor, Zero offered, "If you would like to, I will help you improve your sniping tomorrow."

"That would be great," she replied. Had he sensed her frustration? Probably not, but at least he was making some effort. Sniper rifles were her least favorite type of gun. They were heavy and awkward, unlike pistols, which fit perfectly into her hand. While submachine guns and assault rifles were often just as heavy, sniping was a precise art, a sport made for those far more patient than her.

After sitting back down again, Maya flopped back on her blanket and looked to the sky, remembering the last time she had been back in Sanctuary.

Trying to stifle their giggles, she and Lilith, already tipsy, had decided to ignore Moxxi's rule about keeping alcohol on the premises, sneaking two bottles of rakk ale out of the bar inside Lilith's jacket. They had taken the ale to Sanctuary's entrance, where a newly-erected statue of Roland stood. The vault hunters, both old and new, had joined together to collect pieces of the desecrated and destroyed Handsome Jack statues that had once stood in Opportunity and the Eridium Blight, using the liquid gold that had once been used to pay homage to Roland's killer into a memorial for their fallen leader and friend. Inside his garage, Scooter had worked on one of his runners, the clanks of his wrench and hammer drifting into the air as he worked. Occasionally, citizens and Crimson Raiders had wandered past, footsteps sounding on the sandy concrete, as they engaged in idle talk about the events that had transpired or the future of Sanctuary, their home.

Some things were different, and some things were the same. Life went on.

Closing her eyes, Maya wondered what else Pandora had to offer her, and if she would ever learn what her place in the world as a siren was, before drifting to sleep.


	3. The Downward Spiral

**A/N: **I am really sorry for the delay with this chapter. I have been sick lately and haven't had the energy to write. Have no fears though, this story is not abandoned. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

**The Downward Spiral**

Underneath his helmet, Zero closed his eyes as he sat cross-legged in the sand. Maya, who had fallen asleep a few yards from him, was oblivious to the world around them; he was not. Picking up a handful of sand, he studied its contrast with the black of his armor. The dull beige color was almost beautiful when illuminated by the light of the moon. Though he felt nothing through his gloves, he imagined how it felt as it trickled through the cracks of his fingers back onto the ground below, forming a small pile near his calves. He remembered the feeling of sand—how it burned the bottom of your feet when overheated and how it squished between your toes when wet, but he couldn't remember the last time his skin had come into contact with it. Curious, he removed his right glove and began tracing a pattern in the ground—a smiley face. The sand felt different than he last remembered. It was cooler and grainer, made more of rock than softness. Reluctantly, he wiped his hand against his armor and put his glove back on.

In the distance, he could hear the hum of the earth ringing gently in his ears. It was something he often heard when he closed his eyes and focused on nothing in particular. The hum, although always there, could only be heard in sheer silence—in moments of pause, as if all of Pandora stood still, ready to awaken.

But as the sound drew closer, Zero could tell it was unnatural. It was manmade, inhuman, though he couldn't yet tell what it was. Instinctively, he reached for the hilt of his sword but did not draw it, instead concentrating with closed eyes on the buzzing that now filled the air. It couldn't have been caused by bandits. They had already established that there were no camps nearby. Besides, he could feel something far more sinister in the air. Like a word on the tip of his tongue, it was a feeling he couldn't place.

Moments later, he spotted the source. A buzzard was flying toward them, penetrating the night sky with the whirl of its propellers and the noise that came from its engine. He reached for his sniper rifle and began to look through the scope. It was still too far away to see much, but he could distinguish more and more of its features as it approached. The dark sky was no match for the night vision of his helmet, and years of staring down the barrel of a sniper rifle had taught him how to spot even the slightest of movements. Even with a field of vision that was tinted green, he could pinpoint the colors of the buzzard. It was a light gray, the color of tin, lined with painted-black bolts and a shaded windshield that prevented him from seeing its inhabitants. He could spot no faces as the buzzard moved closer. No bandits were hanging off the sides like they tended to do, shouting profanities and taunting those on the ground below them, guns in hand and the stench of stale alcohol still clinging to their breaths.

Aiming his sniper rifle, he paused for a few seconds, crouched down on one knee, and fired once he had a steady shot. A loud crack filled the air as the bullet left the bore of his gun, waking Maya from her sleep. Eyes blurry, she tried to focus, asking, "What's happening?" as she pulled herself off the ground and pulled a revolver from her belt.

"A buzzard approaches," he told her, remaining crouched in position with his gun locked on the target, ready to fire again.

"Bandits?" Maya asked. Zero did not reply. He fired another shot that ricocheted off the steel of the buzzard, doing nothing to stop the approaching enemy. There was no question that its inhabitants had spotted the two vault hunters on the ground below. It moved across the sky slowly and steadily towards them, becoming larger and louder with every minute that passed.

A quarter-mile from them, it finally stopped, hovering in the air above. The only sign of life from the buzzard was its ability to remain airborne and pilot the terrain. Zero fired once again. The bullet hit the side windshield of the pilot's side, but it only slightly cracked the windshield, leaving behind a small indentation and the bullet stuck in the glass. Maya pulled back the hammer of her revolver. Her legs were shoulder-length apart and her handgun aimed at the enemy, having now been forced from her sleepy state by the sudden rush of adrenaline that flowed through her veins. She was ready to strike; any indication of movement and she would pull the trigger.

But nothing happened. The buzzard remained hovering in the air. "What do you think it wants?" she asked, not taking her eyes off it. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Zero shrug. He flashed an emoticon across his visor that she couldn't quite make out, not wanting to take her attention away for even a moment. After a few more minutes of the standstill, the door of the buzzard slid open and rope ladder was released. A woman began to descend, dressed from head to toe in silver and red armor that clung to her body. A helmet obscured her face, but the tightness of her outfit was indication enough of her sex. Her belt held two digistruct swords not unlike the one Zero had. She dropped the distance left uncovered by the ladder and landed on the ground with a thud, four men clad in similar armor following closely behind her.

Zero tightened his finger on the trigger, pausing for a second to adjust his aim before firing. He recognized her armor; he would know the colors they wore anywhere, but he did not yet know who she was. He had no desire to listen to what she had to say, but they had taken obvious precautions against attack. The bullet bounced off the woman's shield and left her undamaged, though the force of the impact halted her step and pushed her back slightly. The woman and her henchmen had yet to fire a bullet or even draw a gun yet, but he knew a shootout would be the inevitable outcome of his encounter. In his mind, he knew the Atlas Corporation better than they knew themselves.

Maya didn't move, still focused on holding her revolver steady despite the muscle aches that now began to crawl up her arm. Any more pressure on the trigger would send a bullet flying, and she did not want to escalate the tension that clouded the air. The woman faced them. Her helmet was oddly-shaped, angled down at the chin with eyes that glowed a faint yellow. She was taller and thinner than Maya but not by much.

"Miss me?" the woman asked Zero.

He replied with, "Who are you?" He didn't recognize the voice. It had been years since his last contact with anyone associated with Atlas, save for Roland and the former members of the Crimson Lance that now made up the Crimson Raiders.

The woman gave an amused laugh and used her right hand to pull the helmet off to reveal a head of flaxen blonde hair that, although straight at the roots, had loose curls that hung slightly below her shoulders. She tossed the helmet back towards her henchmen but didn't bother to look behind and see if one had caught it. Black eyeliner circled her pale blue eyes, and bold red lipstick adorned the smirk that crossed her lips as she said, "You don't remember?"

Maya took her eyes off her target for a moment and glanced over at Zero with confusion etched into the lines of her face. He appeared not to notice; he was focused in on the strangers. Maya was tempted to ask what was going on but quickly thought better of it. Although his voice didn't show it, she could tell the situation made Zero uneasy. His muscles were rigid and tense, and the sniper rifle in his hands was aimed and ready to fire, his finger looped inside the trigger guard.

"Eris," he acknowledged.

The woman's smile grew wider at his response. Gesturing to Maya, she put a hand to her hip and asked, "Who's your girlfriend?" but was met with silence. She continued regardless, "She's a pretty one. A siren, is she?"

"Leave her out of this."

A mock-pout formed on Eris's lips as she said, "So I'm not even worthy of haiku, am I?" Taking a step towards Zero, she dropped the tone of her voice before continuing, "I missed your haikus." Still wearing her mock-pout, Eris looked over at Maya and challenged, "We used to be really close," but did not receive the response she had hoped for. Maya's expression held no jealousy or anger, only confusion and the bubbling dread that was making knots in her stomach.

Zero knew better than to call her lie. He wouldn't indulge her need for a reaction. Eris wrinkled her nose. "So…," she dragged the syllable out. "I was in the neighborhood, and I happened to hear that you went vault-hunting. How exciting is that?" Her voice dripped with a false sweetness that reminded her of how the Brothers used to treat her as a child. The sweet tone did little to hide the condescension that came from Eris's lips. Both Maya and Zero knew better, leaving her question unanswered.

Eris placed her hands on both sides of her belt and drew her digistruct swords by the hilt. "You know what? Fuck you," she spat. The false sincerity in her voice had been replaced by a faint anger that threatened to boil over at any moment. She held the swords facing Zero with the tips of the blades touching one another.

The Crimson Lance henchmen became alert, drawing high-powered assault rifles that were subsequently aimed at the chests of Zero and Maya. The Siren knew she would stand no chance. Her revolver only held six bullets, while their guns had automatic fire and magazines that could hold at least forty bullets. She closed her eyes briefly and swallowed before scanning her surroundings for something to duck behind-but they were in the desert; she found only sand. Her shield would have to do.

Maya looked to her right and saw that Zero had already tossed his sniper rifle aside, leaving it lying untouched in the sand. His electric blue blade was drawn and positioned to face-off with the Eris's two crimson blades. Finally addressing her, Zero sang, "So you have two swords, but I only have one in hand. Do you call this fair?" It was a taunt he knew she couldn't ignore. He suspected he could beat her either way, but they were outnumbered and their enemies far more trained than the bandits they usually fought. He didn't like those odds.

"Scared?" she asked, tossing one of her swords aside. "Is this how you want to fight?"

Maya watched as Eris struck the first blow. Purple sparks emerged where the red and blue blades intersected, sending an electric vibration down to the hilt that would tingle an ungloved hand. The sight of the color clash might have been beautiful in other circumstances, but they merely reflected the instability of the weapons. Digistruct blades had not been built to fight one another.

Zero dug his heels into the ground and resisted the force of her strike. The force of her swing was no match for him, and she seemed to know it, but Eris pulled back and swung again, only to once again be blocked by a now vertical

Maya and the Crimson henchmen remained in a stand-off, watching the two assassins trade blows. Neither side fired until Eris, sword locked against the Zero's blade, yelled over to them, "Why the fuck are you just standing around?" Instantly, the men turned towards Maya, the eyes of their helmets glowing the same faint yellow that Eris's had before. The henchmen fired their assault rifles before Maya could even pull the trigger. A wave of bullets crashed against her shield and forced her to her knees. The momentum of the automatic rifles spilled bullets against the landscape.

"Just make sure she's alive," Eris ordered as an afterthought. "I want them both."

Maya bit her lip and emptied her revolver at the men, only to have all six bullets leave the men unwounded. Her shield was depleting, and she was beginning to feel dizzy from the barrage of ammo that seemed like it would never end. At any moment, her shield would be gone and her blood spilled across the desert sand.

Moments later, it happened. A hollow point bullet struck Maya's upper arm and embedded itself in her muscle, flowering out with its metal tips as it tore through her tissue. A single _fuck _escaped her lips as she reached with her opposite hand to clench at the fresh wound. Blood began to seep through her fingers, leaving a warm sticky trail that crossed over her fingers and poured down to the ground.

The men had stopped firing once the bullet hit and moved closer to her. After slinging his rifle over his shoulder, one of the men lifted Maya off the ground and wrapped his arm around her neck in a chokehold. Her feet dangled above the sand as she struggled against his grip, weakly trying to pry away his arm, only to surrender to the hold as her survival instincts and the need for oxygen kicked in. The more she moved, the less she could breathe.

Yards away, Eris and Zero continued their fight. Each blow exchanged was blocked by the other; both were unharmed and on equal footing. Sweat had begun to pour down Eris's brow, smudging the corners of her black eyeliner as it moved down her temple. Zero, on the other hand, showed no sign of weariness. He was as emotionless as always, face blocked from the world by the shine of his black helmet.

In the end, Zero struck the first blow. Eris, distracted by his hologram, let her guard down enough for him to slice at her midsection, directly at the hip. Her armor peeled away around the wound to reveal a line of red that quickly became distorted as blood began to emerge from the cut. "You bitch," she swore as she backed away, pointing her sword at Zero in an effort to force him to keep his distance. She glanced downward at the cut before wrapping her arm across her body in an attempt to ease the pain. "You'll pay for this."

"I could kill you know," Zero taunted. "Do you wish to surrender? You have lost this fight."

Eris's eyes lit up with a cruel blaze, "Have I? Your little siren is mine now." Her lips curled into a smile. "How do you think she'll like the Somnambulus?"

"Call your men off now," Zero said.

"I don't think so. Orion, load her on the buzzard," Eris replied as she continued to slowly back up. Dark red drops mixed with her footsteps in the sand. Without hesitation, Zero lunged forward with his sword at Eris, but his blade tore through nothing but pure air upon impact and the image of Eris faded away. From behind him, he heard her voice taunting him. "You're not the only one with Decepti0n, babe. Remember?"

But he couldn't remember. Decepti0n had been his and his alone.

After Orion had loaded the now-unconscious Maya onto the buzzard, Eris continued making her way towards her escape, her blade still pointed at Zero. Wrapping a hand around the fraying rope, she told him, "I'll be back for you," before quickly ascending into the safety of the metal beast. Propellers whirling, the buzzard took off, leaving Zero behind in its dust. His sniper rifle lay adjacent to him on the ground, but he knew any attempts to stop them now would be futile. The only way the Crimson Lance would be stopped, and Maya rescued, would be to plan ahead.

He detached his ECHO communicator from his hip and dialed. A peppy voice answered, "Wassap?" and a red-haired girl appeared on the screen with two men standing behind her.

He lifted the device closer to his helmet and spoke, "Come and pick me up. The Crimson Lance has Maya. We must act quickly," before hanging up.

He flashed an angry emoticon across his visor, though no one was around to see it. Picking his sniper rifle off the ground, he made his way back to what was left of their campground. No matter the cost, he would take the Crimson Lance down. Eris was playing a lit match, and she hadn't yet felt the fire. He would bring her to her knees.

If this was Rome, he would do as the Romans do.

Vengeance would be sweet.


	4. A Change in the Game

**A/N:** I fell out of love with Borderlands for a while, so that's why there haven't been any updates. However, the boyfriend and I recently started playing again. We started a new Zero and Maya game, so I am super psyched about Borderlands and full of new ideas for the story. I need to make a couple notes for future chapters:

1. I've decided to use Zero instead of Zer0 from now on. I'll go back and change his name in the previous chapters when I get a chance.

2. I enjoy writing haikus for Zero, but it's often difficult to express what I really want him to say. So, Zero will mostly be using regular dialogue with the occasional haiku thrown in from now on.

3. Kreig will most likely not be showing up in the story, because there really isn't a way to fit him in that I can see at the moment. The story also takes place pre-DLC, but none of those events will likely factor into the story.

4. I would like to experiment with some additional pairings in the story and not have all the romance be all about Zero/Maya. I was thinking Lilith/Mordecai and maybe Gaige/Axton, but I'm not deadset on anything and open to suggestions. If you want to see/don't want to see any of these pairings, let me know!

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**A Change in the Game**

Maya awoke to strong hands on her shoulders and a deep voice instructing her to move. She put one foot forward but struggled to bring the other to meet it. Had it not been for the guidance of the Crimson Lance soldier behind her, she might have stumbled. The air around her was heavy, and the light of the sun blinding. Walking was like moving through quicksand, but a glance at the ground revealed nothing but green grass. Each step was more difficult than the last.

"Get moving," the soldier behind her said, giving her a slight shove forward.

She wanted to protest _I can't_, but her mouth was stuffed with cotton. She closed her eyes. As soon as she gave into the surrender of sleep, a foot kicked at her ankle, jolting her awake again.

"Where are we?" Maya managed to say, but she was unsure if her words made sense. The soldier didn't reply to her question. Positioning his rifle in between her shoulder blades, he pushed her forward again. _What had happened?_ She couldn't remember, no matter how hard she tried. It was as though a thick mist had wrapped itself around the recent events, leaving all memories intact but the ones she needed the most right now. Even the memory of what happened only a minute ago was difficult to recall. The bandage wrapped around her upper arm told her she had been shot, but she only felt pain when she pressed her fingers against the wound.

"Okay, I get the fucking hint," the Siren replied. She focused her energy on keeping pace, carefully placing one foot in front of the other. Moving as quickly as she could manage, she concentrated on moving forward. In the distance, a building stood. It appeared to be made of clay, its color a deep tan. The land around the building was bare, save for a few scattered trees that lined the outskirts of her vision.

With each passing moment, her body felt heavier and heavier. Even her head was becoming difficult to hold upright, a sensation she couldn't say she had ever experienced before. She felt like a mannequin, her limbs hanging limp from each joint in wait of an outside force. Her mind could no longer control them—will them into movement. Hanging her head and falling back against the soldier, she blacked out.

The next time Maya awoke she was laying face-up on a small metal table in a small room. The ceiling above her was white, and, after turning her head to the side, she found the walls painted the same color. Moving her wrists and ankles slightly revealed that she was restrained by some sort of leather straps. Struggling did nothing to set her free. The sound of her movements must have caught someone's attention because, moments later, she heard the sound of footsteps and a door opening, only to be quickly closed again.

"You're awake," a voice said. It was somehow familiar to the Siren, but she couldn't recall from where. The voice was female, soft and almost reassuring. It wasn't until the woman's face came into view, looming over her, that Maya recognized where she had heard it before. Flashes of the events that had brought her here—being awoken by the sound of Zero's gunfire, seeing trails of blue light created by the swing of his blade, and the feeling of her own fingers gripping her arm tightly to keep the blood from pouring out.

"Where am I?" Maya asked as the woman turned away from her and crossed the room. "Who are you?" she continued, watching as the woman returned holding a small needle.

"My name is Eris," the woman replied, setting the needle down on a small metal table next to the larger one Maya lay on. "Where you are is not important," she finished. Eris pulled her hair back into a ponytail using a small rubber band that had been wrapped around her wrist before picking up the needle again and facing the Siren.

"What do you want from me?" Maya questioned, but this time received no response.

Eris placed the needle against the inside of Maya's elbow. "This will hurt a bit," she said, pausing for a moment before piercing the skin. Leaving the needle in place, she attached it to a long tube behind her that was connected to something Maya could barely see.

"What are you doing?" Maya asked. The effects of the IV were almost instantaneous. The liquid that began pouring into her veins was cold, and she shivered as it began to move throughout her body. It was accompanied by a different sensation, something Maya didn't think she had ever felt before—bliss. In that moment, there was no pain. There was only ecstasy and the sight of Eris's blue eyes staring into her own.

Maya blacked out again.

* * *

Zero sat in the gunner seat of the car that Ellie and Scooter had worked together create for the Vault hunters after their defeat of Handsome Jack. Although it looked much like a Bandit Technical, the car seated five people—two in front, two in back, and one person manning the large machine gun that sat at the very back of the car, where Zero now sat.

Salvador, in control of the vehicle, had his right arm on the wheel and his left dangling casually over the side of the vehicle. Given his years of experience driving the bandit cars of Pandora, he was the best driver of all of them. Unlike Axton, who tended to drive so fast that any sudden change in course or stop would send the rest of them flying, the pace of the car was even, although still fast. Unlike Gaige, Salavador had yet to run into anything, save for a few skags that failed to move out of the way in time.

Axton was in front next to Salvador, his arms folded across his chest in what one could only assume was a gesture of annoyance, his tense shoulders clearly visible over the back of his seat. In the back, Gaige was sprawled out, taking over the spot that once belonged to Maya with her legs. Pulling back the hammer of her pistol, she aimed lazily at the skags that were chasing the runner before letting go. Each strike of the hammer against the firing pin sent a bullet flying into the dust cloud behind them.

"Would you stop doing that?" Axton snapped as he glanced back at Gaige. "You're wasting ammo." Looking him in the eye, Gaige defiantly pulled back the hammer and released it once again.

Before Axton could get a word in, Salvador interjected, "Come on, amiga. Let's not make things worse by starting a fight."

"Fine," Gaige agreed with a sigh. "Don't blame me if this car breaks down and we become skag food."

The tension of Maya's disappearance had only been fueled by Zero's silence. As they rounded a corner around a pile of rocks, the sight of Sanctuary's towering metal doors came into view. After Handsome Jack's death, the former city in the sky had been grounded once again by Lilith's powers and the eridium the vault hunters had been able to scavenge. The city may no longer have had the built-in defense of being seated within Pandora's middle atmosphere, but the raids of Hyperion's stock conducted by the Crimson Raiders had provided them with plenty of shields and new technology.

Salvador slammed his foot down on the gas pedal, causing the vehicle to jerk slightly before quickly accelerating as the doors opened before them. Once inside the gates, the vehicle came to a quick halt. The force of the stop sent clouds of dust into the air, causing both Gaige and Axton to cough loudly.

"We're here!" said Salvador as he opened his door and stepped onto familiar ground. Axton followed his lead and climbed out of the door, while Gaige, not bothering with doors, simply hopped out and stretched. Zero was the last to exit the vehicle, leaping out of the gunner seat much like Gaige but with far more grace and elegance.

Axton squared his shoulders towards Zero and crossed his arms over his chest. "Alright, we're here now. Tell us what happened," he said, staring into the dark glass of Zero's visor as though he were looking straight into his eyes.

"Gather the others, and meet me on the second floor of the Raider headquarters. Then we will talk," said Zero, breaking from his usual haiku pattern as he spoke.

Axton looked as though he was about to say something but thought better and gave a nod. "Gaige, go get Scooter. Sal, you find Lilith," Axton commanded, looking at the others as he spoke their names. "I'll get Brick and Mordecai. Tannis should be in her office. Anyone else you want?"

"That is sufficient for now," Zero replied.

Zero's voice raised goosebumps on Axton's skin, so cold and mechanical in the face of chaos. It was during times like this that Axton found it hard to believe his companion was human like the rest of them. Zero trusted them with his life, but he had never trusted them with his secrets. Despite all they had been through, they knew so little about who he was or where he came from. _But now is the time for action, not thinking_, Axton thought. Swallowing back the saliva that had built up in his mouth, Axton turned his back to Zero and began his search. Salvador and Gaige were long gone, and he could hear the sound of Gaige's animated talking rising through the air as he turned his pace to a jog and ascended the stairs.

By the time they had all gathered, the second floor of the Raider headquarters was filled with bodies, packed beyond its usual occupancy. The wanted posters of the five vault hunters still hung proudly on the walls amidst the other posters, flyers, and stickers. An uncomfortable warmth filled the room as everyone settled into their places, pressing against the walls of the room in an arch shape to accommodate everyone.

The tallest, Brick and Mordecai, stood in the back. Brick stood with his arms crossed. Although his face bore a neutral expression, his jaw protruded slightly as though he were clenching his teeth. Opposite of him, Mordecai leaned casually against the door frame as he often did, surveying the room through his tinted goggles. Scooter's positioning mimicked Brick as he stood next to Axton and Salvador with his arms crossed. He was covered in the usual grease and wearing his favorite cap. Lilith stood at the forefront of the group, with Tannis and Gaige lagged slightly behind her.

The room's round table stood between the group and Zero, whose back was turned towards the balcony in the other room.

Lilith was the first to speak. "What happened to my sister?" she asked. Her voice, though calm, was alive with an emotional fire that the others hadn't heard in a long time.

All eyes were on Zero as he replied, "She was taken by the Crimson Lance."

"What do you mean? Atlas is dead," said Brick.

Lilith cut in, "Yeah, we killed them off ages ago."

"I can confirm this," Tannis piped in, taking her eyes off her clipboard to glance at Zero before looking back down. Whether she was actually reading or merely avoiding having to make eye contact with the room was anyone's guess.

"Apparently not all of them," Zero replied.

Axton waited for the assassin to say more. When no words came, he let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding in and said, "All right, just tell us what you know."

Zero glanced around the room as he spoke. "The woman who took her is named Eris. She was a fledgling Omega Class assassin when I knew her. Not the best but better than many others."

The room fell silent for a brief moment before Lilith spoke once again, "So you were one of their assassins?" Upon seeing Zero nod, she continued, "How is that even possible? I thought all their assassins were female."

Tannis glanced up again for a brief moment, opening her mouth as though she were going to say something before quickly closing it again.

An ellipsis crossed the assassin's visor followed by a pause. There were no visible changes in the assassin's stance, but his hesitancy indicated far more to the room than his words or actions might have portrayed. Finally, he replied, "That is neither important nor relevant."

A wave of annoyance washed over Lilith, but she didn't press the issue further. Expecting Zero to share his secrets now was a lost cause.

But it was Salvador, not Lilith, who spoke next. "What does this Eris want with her?" he asked.

"She wants me," said Zero. "But I don't think she'll use her as leverage, not now anyway. Eris knows she's a siren. She's too valuable for them to risk parting with."

Before the assassin could continue, Axton interjected, "So they won't kill her?" He wasn't sure if he had meant to ask a question or make a statement, but the words had already left his mouth.

Zero shook his head, "No, they'll try to turn her and use her however they see fit."

"They'll never turn Maya," Mordecai spoke up. "She'll never side with them."

"She won't have a choice when they're done with her," said Zero.

"What do you mean?"

An ellipsis crossed Zero's visor once again as he replied, "It is difficult to explain. They have advanced technology, a machine called the Somnambulus—"

Before Zero could finish, Tannis cut him off. "A Somnambulus? I haven't heard of one of those in years!" The giddiness in her voice contrasted sharply against the sober atmosphere of the room.

"What is it?" Lilith asked as the room turned their attention from Zero to Tannis.

"A dreamwalking machine, or, rather, that's what it was intended to be," Tannis explained. "It was intended to induce a type of lucid dream in the subject's brain, but the developers were never able to finish because funding was cut."

"Cut to the chase, Tannis," Mordecai said. "What does it do in its current state?"

Tannis hesitated, thinking over her words. "The developers were able to artificially manipulate the dream content while the subject was in the machine but were never able to give the subject control of the dream."

"In the hands of the Crimson Lance, it has become a brainwashing machine. Rather than endure the actual physical effects of torture, the machine creates an environment where the torture feels and seems real but isn't," Zero explained. "It brings people to the point of total vulnerability and breaks them."

Lillith felt sick as she digested what was said, a sensation that could only be described as uncomfortable bubbling in her stomach. Glancing around the room, she could tell she wasn't the only one. When it became clear that no one else would speak, she looked back to Zero and asked, "So… you underwent this thing before you became an assassin?"

Zero's response sent a shiver down her spine. "No, I invented it."


End file.
